It took several minutes for everyone to move.

The storm that had plagued them for what felt like weeks had retreated into the familiar greyish hue clouds that constantly surrounded the Undercity. The malleable structure that had held them throughout the clash of wind and rain only now began to crumble, its job fulfilled even as the inhabitants didn’t dare to move.

Mantis remained on the plateau, the others caked in all manner of slick soil and grime, unbothered by the muck since the last few attempts on their life had almost succeeded with every time they tried. The solemn Air Traited looked up at the sky, her legs had long given out but the soaring creature above her was far more tenacious.

Hawkins steadily broke out of his fear laced shell, only moving in small increments in step with the disgruntled Fire Traited and the still shaking Tinker Mole. Wordlessly they nudged closer together, their eyes locked as they each gave each other a once over before half dragging the helpless Gidget out of his stupor.

All anyone did was sit and watch.

The aftermath of the storm’s debris had been used to cement new structures into the soft earth, gravel strewn into brickwork like shards of glass permeating flesh. Axis creaked alongside them, the Living City still bruised and battered but somehow still standing. Broken but whole.

A soft glow of familiar blue encompassed the darkness of the day, night…evening whatever today was with a new monochrome vision of the city he grew up in. It was cold but not blisteringly so, it was dark but somehow his vision was clear even with the steadily rising clouds of dust and moisture around them.

Hawkins didn’t have the capacity to think about what was next. Too tired to call it tired and too drained to do anything but the simplest of actions. He clapped Cull on the back in quiet thanks and rose to his feet, almost crumpling under the weight of his own spine and hobbled towards the lone Mantis, still watching the skies for any kind of movement. She was too young for all this. They all were.

The dragging of feet was the only sound anyone could hear for miles, Cullian gently guided the ragged Tinker Mole to his feet with the hope that everyone else wouldn’t be far behind. Gidget’s claws made trails in the sand, two pairs became blurred with the heat rippling beside him even as small bits of dried clay rolled into beads and followed him. Crafter and Traited too exhausted to do anything but mindlessly wander until their destination had been set.

Mantis tried to greet them, she really did. But they didn’t need thanks or apologies. They sat watching the same sky, the same horizon until the same hollow blue bird condensed into energy came down to meet them just as the relief filled notes of bickering arrived to strangely set them at ease. Hack, Odi and Gizmo.

Cull laughed, a loud deep laugh that none of them expected until Gidget was rolling on the already cracked ground struggling to breathe from the effort of keeping things together. Hawkins didn’t know when he had joined in but by the time they had all stopped the brick puns had gotten to ridiculous levels even with all eight of them pitching in. Thea included.

They didn’t make a fire. They didn’t heal anyone. They didn’t lecture or argue or drift off when feelings were hurt and tempers were high. They stayed together until Cull’s seemingly endless food supply had dried out and had spent the rest of the time debating whether the living city preferred jerky or Insta Rolls by chucking old bits of wrappers at whichever walls would pop up next.

For the first time in a long time, Hawkins didn’t give a shit about anything.

Not Memoriam or Cricket or this Bookkeeper business. Not the seemingly endless lists of theories and secrets he wanted Odi and Hack to confirm or deny that Gizmo would eventually ruin. Not Reina seemingly being plucked out of the sky the moment the tornado hit, not Mantis’ weird ass bird friend who could restore permanent damage to a seemingly sentient city who communicated with a bunch of mole people.

Those things would get answered in time. Cricket would still come for her prize. He would still wake up the next day without Wisp and with a grimoire he didn’t want. But for now, he’d simply listen to his friends attempting to give compliments to a shy Tinker Mole while berating another for yet a different matter entirely. He sighed, eyeing the Sand Wraith still arguing for argument's sake about things that needed to be said but no one really wanted to get into it except him. It was inevitable. But needlessly entertaining.

“August, huh? A better name than your mother’s I suppose.” Hack said absentmindedly, bringing up the very topic everyone else had been dancing over.

Hawkins didn’t bother to reprimand him, shaking his head even as the rest elbowed the Mediator for chuckling even as the bird looked down at him heading from Mantis’ shoulder. The Air Traited looked pleased, tired but genuinely surprised at her familiar’s appearance as his wings sent halos of spiritual blue light that rippled throughout Axis.

“I do appreciate a good pun.” Odi added, lounging in the recesses of a dirt bath despite her obsidian scales seeping in the soil and making it look natural.

Not even Mantis’ death glare or a Scale Shrieker dragon’s swatting tail could stop the mischievous grin on Hack’s face, the earlier conversation making even Cull smile but still Hawkins remained a tad puzzled about what the Sand Wraith was doing. The Fire Traited nudged Gidget who was still fiddling with a lock of his fur caked in mud but Cull rolled his eyes at the Mediator’s deer in the headlights expression.

“Jeez, Mediator. Slow on the uptake? A gust? August?”

He couldn’t help but audibly groan, the others starting another round of jokes and laughter despite the dire situation they seemed to constantly be in. August flapped happily, veering around in circles as sparks of light ricochet off his wings that Hawkins couldn’t help but think his tentative Stormkeeper theory might have some weight to it.

“Oh, Rin’s never gonna leave you alone after that one.” He noted towards the Air Traited, quietly agreeing with him even with her familiar, causing a large distraction.

Mantis couldn’t help but smile, rolling her eyes despite hating puns but knew it was slowly growing on everyone so she joined in regardless. But steadily the minutes ticked by, the usual signs of green mist where nowhere to be seen even in the gloom of Axis’ shadow. The two Tinker Mole’s sat together, casually chatting that made Gizmo sound like a regular person rather than a gossip digging mishmash of accents.

"Where is she?" Mantis asked wearily, too tired to demand as strong as she normally did.

Like a jolt of lightning the tired fog of battle lifted with a hitch of his breath, the stark realisation that both the Firestep wolves and Rin weren't with them. The hazy memory of Hazard digging through one of Gidget’s Miner Craft holes attempted to lessen the knot in his stomach but he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen the Fire Traited paired with him.

"Where is she, Cullian?"

Cull wouldn’t meet her gaze. His hands were tucked into himself with his torn sleeves waving even as he tried several times to tie them off and around his arms to protect him from whatever elements he could. He scratched his head, bits of rocks and mud falling from his dishevelled hair as the smell of burnt hair and twigs startled the Fire Traited enough to cave in. If it wasn’t clear before from the mega tornado, Mantis was scary.

“Oh, fine. She told me not to tell you but she's gone to find Cricket."

Hawkins swallowed, the lump in his throat growing stronger either out of concern for his and Cull’s safety from Mantis’ wrath or from that several days old jerky that had gone down the wrong way.

For him it was the former, for Hack it was the latter.

The sound of a choking Sand Wraith made Gidget flinch, raking his claws across his cackling uncle. Gizmo, mid yelp and attempting to tend to his missing fur and constantly apologising nephew ran headfirst into a dragon’s tail, Odi haughtily glaring at him for laughing at Rin’s predicament and as part of her own revenge against the constantly backstabbing Tinker Mole.

Swearing profusely in Nocturian, Thea drifted over to see what was wrong by completely ignoring Gizmo and busying herself from Mantis’ anger by examining the Scale Shrieker’s wings instead. Despite the Tinker Mole insisting his fresh wound was more important than Odi’s, Hawkins was more interested in whether Mantis would strangle Cull first or whether he’d faint on the spot considering he was now responsible for healing these bunch of idiots.

"Alone?"

Cull, startled by how calm she was, stuttered out an answer as if attempting to appease a sleeping dragon.

"Of course not. I sent Hazard and Blaize with her."

Hawkins hadn’t realised he had held his breath, the ear expelling much like a deflated balloon. Mantis' subdued reaction reminded him of a young child trying to decipher an old puzzle, her eyebrows furrowed in a mix of concentration and annoyance as she looked at Cull intently. The Smoke Trait tried incredibly hard to remain sombre despite the absolute chaos unfolding behind them but it seemed August had resorted to peeking behind his master’s shoulder and squawking at them to shut up.

"Why?"

Hawkins croaky voice was far less sturdy than he hoped, worried that he said something to make things worse.

"She sensed that Flame Overtaken heat signature moving around despite all that water screwing us over. We weren't exactly a good matchup Trait wise against Reina so she went off with the wolves to follow it. She had a bad feeling about it so left me with the Infernal Triad just in case."

August’s wings flared angrily, leaving his perch momentarily just to glare menacingly at them for disturbing what little peace and quiet he had. For a moment, Hawkins swore the grey tinged sky got a little darker.

"But that's so reckless! What if she's hurt?" Mantis demanded, the familiar ire in her voice growing stronger.

Cull folded his arms.

"So Rin’s plan is reckless but your mega tornado wasn't reckless? Cut the crap, Mantis. You know Reina wasn't our only obstacle, right? Rin's hoping to save us some time and take out that thing. If it doesn't work, we can at least find out where Cricket’s hiding and she'll head back here where it's safe."

Mantis threw her hands up in the air, walking away from the group and the conversation despite the rushing winds slamming into them. Cull clutched helplessly at his coat half tempted to follow her and try to explain further but Hawkins shook his head. There was no convincing her once her Air Traited got involved.

Hawkins had to admit that both of them had sound arguments and considering Cull’s train of thought tended to jump to the demolition variety before anything else it was a pretty decent plan. But the twist in his stomach wasn’t just from the jerky anymore. It was the thought of leaving Rin and her entourage trying to face Cricket’s anger alone.

“You need to rest, Mantis. The power of a Stormstress isn’t easy to control even with your grimoires capabilities.“ Hack coaxed her, trying to get her to sit down despite his gruff tone from the death jerky.

He tried to rest a claw on her shoulder supportively but she shrank away, angrily resting her arms on her hips, the rising dust storm reminding Hawkins of the wrath her Trait sought on the Singfall siren. Despite being wiped out by her waves Hawkins knew she wasn’t dead yet. Reina would’ve turned to ash if she had. Not to mention Cricket would no longer be a problem and Rin would have already returned. But asking a Traited to do that was like asking him to kill Wisp.

“Don’t you fucking dare, Sand Wraith. Don’t you say anything else. We're going after Rin and that's final."

The Sand Wraith held up his claws in surrender, only catching the end of the conversation since the initial reaction had ruined his voice and almost his sarcophagus. A strange thought crossed Hawkins mind about whether or not death by choking would be felt by his Agar or had triggered the Eternal Death but there were no ash stains he could see so he put it out of his mind.

"No we aren't, you can barely stand. We are waiting for her here." Cull argued back, trying to respect his twin sister's wishes while looking out for his friend.

Hawkins couldn’t help but think of the first conversation with Blaize about how she had met the twins. How Hazard had grumpily followed him despite the explosion to Axis’ surroundings. How Rin had risked everything to save her brother over a Trait technique she had barely heard of let alone tried before that day. Even Cull had shown a sliver of compassion to a shy Tinker Mole and helped him undergo his plan.

The Mediator's chest ached at the thought of losing any of them, the nervous energy clinging to his neck as he breathed in slowly and attempted to suppress the urge to throw up from all the anxiety he felt. With the relentless attacks and countless back and forth battles between the group the sheer relief of not being attacked had left the group in a strange sense of what to do next. But now they had missing members even with all his insistence to work together splitting up and leaving others behind felt wrong.

"Hawkins, what do you think we should do?"

He blinked for a few seconds, his slow processing brain usually overwhelmed by everything pinpointed Mantis’ reluctance to leave the safety of their haphazard circle. Bit by bit he broke down the little details that made her Mantis; the red rimmed eyes, the thin, pale face and the constant shake in her hands hidden by long sleeves and brash comments to avoid from talking about herself, her Trait and the constant currents rippling beneath her fingertips.

But here Mantis was, the constantly angry, out of control hurricane half elf who had a permanent expression of indifference was trying so hard to keep it together. She had fought to hide her Windspell, to heighten her grimoire but now even after everything had unravelled to fight off a deranged siren she’s still clinging to concealing everything because that was all she had left. Without Rin, that was all she knew.

“Look, I’m not keen on having you getting your head caved in again. I know you're tired. We all are. But I disagree with just leaving the three flaming idiots to tackle a fight we all barely survived the first time. Recon mission or not, did you forget it likes to eat Agars?"

Thea shuddered, the Thyraxian raising an appendage in an attempt to help them see her despite her small stature.

“I didn’t.”

Her quiet voice almost broke his heart, Odi gently nuzzled her as she hovered in the air and knocked her a little off balance and flew around everyone as a little gesture of thanks. A trail of silver dust made Hack sneeze a little, playfully swatting her aside to skitter and land in Mantis’ lap, August’s beady eyes stared down at her.

Hawkins didn’t know what made Mantis voluntarily ask for his help but the brief reminder of the conversation between Hack and Hazard separately asking him to lead them seemed to cement his role in the group dynamic. The confirmation that the most stubborn member of their strange, dysfunctional, trapped together family had relented just enough to hear his thoughts without complaint after all this time was…calming. His ideas might not always work but at least he could have a little more confidence in himself now even Mantis was on board.

"What are you suggesting, then?" Cull asked grumpily, still cheesed off by Mantis’ stubbornness but trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Hawkins pondered for a while, his mind distracted with keeping an eye on the others as Gidget had moved away from his sulking uncle while Thea tended to his wound while trying to assist the Tinker Mole in discovering what latent healing ability he might have. The Miner Craft strained in concentration his claws trying to summon the earth’s calming nature to soothe Gizmo’s irate emotions or at least the brief scratch on his side.

Perhaps it was an easier method to avoid mentioning how his claws on his feet were still stuck to the ground as if attempting to ground himself and avoid talking about the whole clinging to dear life in the face of a tornado. Cull followed the Mediator's gaze, almost forgetting his own question to watch as the young Tinker Mole failed to summon what he himself had tried to do many times before.

Gidget’s fur was tinged with blond, flustered by all the attention but he smiled back shyly at the Fire Traited before returning to a different mundane task to organise the various minerals he had collected for Gizmo to use. Hawkins couldn’t help but compared the young Tinker Mole to Hack’s habit of colour changing scales anytime a certain Fatekeeper was mentioned, noting how the two had stuck by each other’s side even with their family members missing.

It wasn’t his place to presume anything between the two of them since it could be simple admiration for one another’s abilities but if a Sand Wraith could fall for a Tinker Mole there was no point asking whether Gidget’s innocent crush was any more valid. Unlike Gizmo, he’d keep that secret to himself. Lockbind or not.

"Only if Odi is up for it, I say we take turns resting on her back while we move along. That way we can use the Triad as a tracker to get to Rin and Mantis can rest her Torecaster thing. Maybe in exchange our resident grimoire expert could even learn more about it on the way?” Hawkins suggested, daring to put the question to the wielder of such a powerful grimoire.

Odi tried to rein in her excitement, her tail twitching at the prospect of getting to unravel something she’d never seen before. Hawkins' smile tweaked upwards, his own curiosity being heightened by hers but he held it down long enough to let Mantis give her potentially negative view on things. It was her grimoire after all.

“Look, I’m not asking you to explain your life history. But if I need to save your arse again and there’s new complications to your familiar thing I don’t know about? Then I’d appreciate something more to go off other than complete guesswork.”

“Never stopped you from learning how to heal on the spot, Mediator." She reminded him pointedly, her glare matching August’s beat for beat.

Her familiar let out a squawk of derision, still exceedingly frustrated by the earlier antics of the group but Mantis shushed him, gently brushing a hand against his incorporeal form. Clearly August didn’t see them as friends. The death by jerky incident had clearly rattled the falcon enough to retreat back to his master but Mantis was being indecisive and her sky blue aura blurred the space around her in an air of strange familiarity.

“True but if you prefer I won't save your life next time. Bird familiar included."

Hawkins bluntness eerily reminded him of his mentor but he stood firm. Mantis might not want to explain all this Stormspell…Stormstress stuff but with the sudden arrival of what seemed like a sentient creature separate from her Thyraxian partner and his still green healing powers he needed a bit of give and take. If not for him or Odi but for herself.

"Fine. But after we find Rin.”

“Deal.”

Hawkins nodded in confirmation, attempting to be respectful but he could see Gizmo’s smarmy grin and Hack giving him a kick to his side just as he opened his mouth.

“Would you like me to tell them about the Stormstress while we walk, Lady Mantis?”

The Forger Crafter darted out of the Sand Wraith’s attempts to punt him across the area, Gidget scolding him despite the others holding in their laughter and slowly began gathering up their strength to keep moving. Mantis sighed, too tired to berate him further as she picked herself off the ground and staggered towards Odi despite August’s watchful eye.

“Fuck off, Gizmo."

The Scale Shrieker dragon leaned forwards quickly to catch the struggling Air Traited, wincing as Mantis’ weight fell against her side and managed to remain upright, half leaning half dangling until she was sitting half upright on Odi’s back. Careful not to jostle her damaged wings too much, Mantis gave her a halfhearted smile despite her exhausted expression, her breaths laboured but clinging tight to whichever scales suited Odi best.

One by one everyone began to move, shuffling along like prisoners on death row while Hawkins remained silent, his bones clicking and cracking together until he dragged himself up out of his awkward position on the hard ground. Staring up at the grey skies strangely helped him feel a little calmer, the aquamarine halo of light surrounded Axis like wings as if soothing their exhaustion just enough to keep moving.

Hovering nearby, he tried to be a pillar of support even as the others bantered and bickered while kicking up stones with the intent to trip each other up but the wave of fatigue continued throughout the group. Only Gizmo and Hack continued to fight, meaninglessly disagreeing about nothing and everything until it became a backdrop to their march.

Hawkins remained at the back, his lazy Smoke Trait veering from side to side as it kept a watchful eye when he couldn’t against the unending darkness. Cull’s shared grimoire hovered at the front of the group like a mini sun, the Tinker Mole’s being half shoved to the front as Hack fell into step a few lengths beside him without even being asked.

“We saw your clash with Reina from way off in the distance thanks to Hack’s seismic sensitivity. I don’t think we would’ve survived if…”

Odi began to engage in conversation more to keep herself awake than Mantis, her methodical pace in the middle of the pack was hesitant to not only avoid knocking into the front group but to prevent aggravating her injury further. Hawkins' mind began to wander, trying to recall when exactly everyone had agreed to the insanity of continuously fighting and tracking the same enemy for so long.

“Nonsense. Your wings might not be as strong as they used to be but they helped protect me today. Now they can protect Mantis too.” Hack said, attempting to confront her despite being a little bit behind.

The dragon beamed back at him, startling her passenger abruptly even as her gait became a little lighter, her wings moving just a little easier even with Hawkins and Thea rotating in a gentle, glowing circle of amber tinged with mint. It was a shame neither of them could help with the lack of stamina but it kept their minds active despite the leisurely pace they needed to take.

“I don’t need protection. I just need a minute to get my head straight.”

Mantis put her head in her hands, hiding the sheer frustration in her eyes even as August nuzzled against her neck.

“I thought you weren’t? Straight, I mean.” Cull quipped, sounding like a confused puppy unlike his own partner.

Hawkins breathed in a little too quickly, half coughing and laughing from the stupid comment as he keeled over onto the floor. His legs had given up underneath him, Mantis throwing a flimsy object at the Mediator with a grin, the entourage grinding to a halt without one of their members following behind. He dusted himself off, giving himself a once over while clutching the haphazardly held together book in his hands.

His old notebook, now full of Rin’s sprawling handwritten notes was clinging to the makeshift backing Hack had attempted to bind together with his tricky claws. Hawkins smiled, shrugging at Mantis and clutched it to his chest being reminded of the twice returned, twice stolen book that had guarded so many thoughts he daren’t repeat to anyone else.

He leaned a hand against the gravel strewn ground, the sharp indents of the prickling stones into his skin but he still used the momentum to stand up again. The fading black notebook frayed at his memories, Thea falling from the sky with the very thing they were fighting over. He had forgotten that Mantis had a part in such a risky move, saved by such a small gesture from an unlikely source.

“Very funny, Cull. Let’s keep going before we all start the pun battles again.”

The Infernal grimoire let out a belch of flame not unlike its owner, its reddish amber glow brightening as it steadily veered to the left and toward the newly constructed buildings in the distance. Hawkins squinted, the contrasting brightness making his head spin as floaters crossed his vision even while he averted his eyes. If it wasn’t for his newly discovered Fire Trait he doubted he’d survive looking at it for very long.

The mist lingering at their feet made him shiver, the reminder of Reina’s weather control chilled the air in an unknowable tension even as everyone set the pace once more. Cull led the group with the two Tinker Moles at his sides, his grimoire hovering in front of him while Gizmo followed with no issue but poor Gidget had to be protected from the sheer light.

His treasured helmet and goggles that helped him protect his eyes when using his Miner Craft to dive underneath Axis’ foundations was now blocking out the sheer power of the makeshift Triad compass. Much like his own Trait, Gizmo found little bother with the flaming halo thanks to his Forger Craft but Odi had to keep a small shroud of darkness around her and Mantis despite her wings attempting to act as a curtain.

Hack’s Sand Wraith eyesight helped to find the right position for the two Mediators stuck behind a dragon like the morning queue at Beggar’s End. Making sure to find the best spot to avert his gaze and instead began to point out a gossamer trail of interlocking circles, lines and sweeping images in a script not even all his time studying in the Halls of Mediation could decipher.

He chuckled to himself, thinking of how he would have reacted before all of this had happened. Instead of spiralling into anxiety for being completely unaware he simply put it on the pile of discovery in this lockdown journey and let himself breathe. The shaky breath that caught in his throat almost toppled his half decent pace, the reminder that he still could get anxiety attacks but could also admit to feeling a little more comfortable about himself.

“You won’t leave without me, will you Manny? I know that big bird is impressive but…”

Hawkins flinched, trying to bring his sleep deprived attention to the forefront of the conversation and awkwardly hoped he hadn’t missed anything important. Scratching his hair and instantly regretting it, he watched Thea nervously flitting away from Mantis, her miniscule wings faltering a little in the face of August’s much larger intimidating wingspan as she warily approached them. Mantis smiled. Before booping her on the nose.

“Never. Besides, August isn’t here to replace you. He’s here to help you. While looking pretty impressive too.” Mantis reassured her, her falcon familiar ruffling his feathers proudly just as they jolted forwards and almost hit a rock.

Hawkins muttered a curse as he backed into Odi’s tail, berating himself for not noticing beforehand or doing something to help but until the little insect hugged the aura filled August with everything her little pincers had the annoyance he felt washed away. He didn’t need to help a partnership who was already trying to repair their flaws, his sympathy for the Thyraxian turned to respect as she introduced herself to Mantis’ ‘new friend’ more than anyone else had done.

"Not as impressive as me! Look!"

Before he could interject or apologise, Thea jumped onto the falcon’s back and soared up in the air and began doing loop de loops in the most adorable aerial display surrounded by a fiery backdrop of light. Hawkins couldn’t help but note his naivety knowing Thea had every right to be wary considering the Air Traited she had been stuck with had been distracted and partially neglected his partner in the process.

Mantis looked up at her two companions in a strange mix of awe, fear, regret and more minute emotions Hawkins eerily connected to his own abandonment issues. But that was not his place to unpack right now. Either way, he couldn’t help but grin at Thea’s infectious personality even as she gave a shy smile back and Hack nudged him supportively with his new staff before a sharp click of fingers sent them reeling into darkness.

Still mentally rattled from the fight, his frazzled brain clung to the fight and flight response he had relied on for so long and was caught between expecting another fight and half cowering beneath Odi to grab onto something solid. Bile rose from his throat at the prospect of being caught off guard, reaching for something to tether himself to the present. The Infernal Triad had gone dark.

A prick of flame drew his pupils closer towards the macabre sight of Cull’s illuminated grin clutching his own grimoire so tight it made Hawkins stomach drop. His mind raced towards betrayal, thinking back to so many moments where he could’ve led them astray and angrily left toward the flame to wrench it away from them. Until a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

Mantis' hand reached down, calm but concise even as the Fire Traited sent the grimoire back into the sky with its flame still sputtering along. It wasn’t a threat. It was a malfunction. A brief hesitation. Nothing more. Nothing to worry about. Everyone stopped to look at them both. They refused to move. Cull looked at her. She couldn’t do the same.

“For Hell’s sake, Mantiscora. Tell them or I will.”